Articles/News - School Bus Safety

Blood samples have been taken from the driver of a BMW and his two passengers to determine if they had been using drugs or alcohol prior to fatally striking a pedestrian and crashing into the back of a school bus on Monday. A manslaughter charge is likely to be pursued against the driver if he is found to have been under the influence.

Don and Kimberly Mair have asked a Florida school district’s board to support their efforts to get warning signs posted at bus stops to alert motorists that there might be children in the area. The couple’s daughter, Gabby, was fatally hit by a car in June after being dropped off by her school bus.

A non-profit coalition has issued tips for children, while a school bus contractor and operations from Missouri to Nevada have organized safety lessons and assemblies for students. In Florida, the departments of Education, Transportation, and Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles have developed the “Stop on Red, Kids Ahead” campaign.

The industry coalition’s Yellow School Bus Champions program provides 5-, 10- and 30-minute presentations that are available for download. They cover the safety, educational and environmental advantages of school bus use.

Oscar Juracan noticed that a boy on the bus was not breathing, and the trainer quickly responded to perform abdominal thrusts on the elementary student. Spring (Texas) ISD requires all of its trainers to take a CPR course.

After a student involved in a fight on the bus jumped from the rear emergency door and got in a car with two other men to follow the bus, Harnett County school bus driver Sha-Wana Cameron was able to evade the car and contact police.

The Gwinnett County (Ga.) Police Department received a call from a passerby reporting that she observed a female exit her vehicle and place an object underneath a school bus as it was stopped for traffic at an intersection. Police, FBI and fire officials are investigating the incident.

At the national summit last week, North Carolina state pupil transportation director Derek Graham had a realization about the school bus industry’s cause. He describes the experience in this editorial.

Hyde Park (N.Y.) Central School District has created an information page on its Website featuring its proposed plan to redesign the bus loop at its middle school. The page includes minutes from public input meetings and a video illustrating the district's motivations for the redesign.

Two illegal passing incidents occurred on Friday last week: one in Indiana, one in North Carolina. In both cases, the children struck by oncoming vehicles survived. In Indiana, the 18-year-old motorist is said to have been using her cell phone at the time of the accident.

Proponents have developed counterpoints to each of the most common arguments against installing seat belts on school buses, including loss of capacity, problems during evacuations and passengers using seat belts as weapons. Unsurprisingly, cost is the biggest obstruction.

Designs for NYAPT's bumper sticker contest, which is in its third year, must include the words "STOP 4 THE BUS" and depict the requirement for motorists to stop for school buses that have their red lights flashing. This year's contest drew more than 200 entries from elementary students across the state.

Baron Hill (D-Ind.) will introduce a presidential proclamation next month designating the third week in October of every year as National School Bus Safety Week. Pupil transporters are urged to show their support by contacting their congressmen and congresswomen and encouraging them to vote “yes” when the bill comes to the floor.

Students and teachers on a chartered bus headed toward a coastal town on Vancouver Island for a field trip were stranded on Sunday when the driver took a wrong turn and got stuck. The bus was found and pulled out on Monday afternoon.

The summit, scheduled to take place Sept. 21 in Washington, D.C., will also be Webcast live at www.distraction.gov, allowing those who can't attend to watch remotely and submit questions for panelists.

The Reason Foundation’s 19th Annual Highway Report indicates that nationally, the percentage of urban interstates that are congested fell below 50 percent for the first time since 2000. Pavement conditions on urban interstates are the best they’ve been since 1993, and traffic fatalities have fallen to the lowest levels seen since the 1960s.

Kai Wilken helps his son eat healthy foods at school by creating sandwiches with lunchmeat, cheese, fruit and vegetables that feature everything from superheroes to cartoon characters. Among his other edible masterpieces is a school bus.

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